Menopause
The menopause is when a woman stops having periods and is no longer able to get pregnant naturally. Periods usually start to become less frequent over a few months or years before they stop altogether. Sometimes they can stop suddenly. The menopause is a natural part of ageing that usually occurs between 45 and 55 years. There are three stages a woman will go through for example:
Peri Menopause – Can last 6 years, ends 1 year after your final period. Usually occurs in your forty’s, Estrogen. levels dip irregularly. Periods become more unpredictable and less frequent.
Menopause – You have officially reached menopause when you are period free for twelve straight months with a doctor’s confirmation this is not due to another medical condition. The average age of menopause for a woman is 52 years old. Estrogen levels drop dramatically causing certain natural changes in the body. Including hot flushes and bone loss.
Post Menopause – Any time after the menopause is post menopause. Post usually begins in a woman’s fifties. Estrogen levels continue to drop, causing certain natural changes in the body, Including hot flushes and bone loss.
Symptoms vary from person to person. The common symptoms when nearing menopause may include:
- Irregular menstrual cycles
- Heavy bleeding might occur for a day or two
- Excessive sweating during night
- Hot flashes
- Vaginal dryness, itching and pain during sexual intercourse
- Frequent urinary tract infections
- Mood swings
- Fatigue
- Weight gain due to uneven fat distribution
No specific medical treatment is necessary. Treatments aimed at reducing the signs and symptoms.
Medication- Low dose antidepressants prescribed to control mood swings and hot flashes. Usually recommended if the symptoms interfere with daily life.
- Fluoxetine · Paroxetine · Sertraline
- Anticonvulsants: Helps to reduce extreme hot flashes. Given only if necessary.
- Gabapentin
- Self-care
- Healthy diet and exercise may relieve the symptoms. Include more of calcium and protein rich diets in your food.
- Practise yoga – helps in regulating your body rhythm
- Pilates – helps with stretching and keeping subtle
- Therapies: Hormone therapy
Yes! New data released by the North American Menopause Society at their September 28, 2020, annual meeting indicated that a growing number of women are interested in utilising medical cannabis to manage their menopause symptoms. Cannabis is becoming popular in use in managing chronic health conditions and mood symptoms. The physical and emotional changes experienced by menopausal women appear to fall nicely into those categories that cannabis can help reduce symptoms of
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Hot Flush
- Brain Fog
Turning to cannabis to ease menopausal symptoms is not new either: According to historian Ethan Russ, cannabis was used as far back as the 7th century for myriad women’s ailments. It even pops up as a treatment of menopause in the 1899 edition of the Merck Manual, a popular medical textbook. At the turn of that century, all the major pharmaceutical companies—Eli Lilly, Parke-Davis (now Pfizer), and Squibb—sold cannabis as a powder, tablet, and tincture.
The study included a sample of 232 women with a mean age of 56 years. Symptoms which study participants reported included:
- 69% -genitourinary symptoms
- 54% – hot flashes and night sweats
- 27% – insomnia
One surprising aspect of the data is that only
- 19% of the women reported using hormone therapy or other more conventional treatments. In contrast,
- 27% of women reported using cannabis to treat their more troublesome menopausal symptoms.
- An additional 10% expressed an interest in trying medical cannabis.
- Across every demographic (age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status), women most used cannabis to relieve hot flashes and night sweats.
These findings suggest that cannabis use to manage menopause symptoms may be common. Cannabis use for menopause symptom management among midlife women veterans.
Cannabis may also help with the emotional changes during menopause in other ways. Estrogen levels can have an enormous impact on emotionality, modulated by the endocannabinoid system. Loss of estrogen can cause serious anxiety and depression. Luckily, cannabis is also known for its ability to reduce anxiety and depression, and even leave patients with more resilience against anxiety in stressful situations.
For one thing, studies show that cannabinoids like THC can stimulate serotonin, which is a target for anti-depressants, potentially helping relieve anxiety and depression.
A 2016 review of the literature for using cannabis with depression found that cannabis use led to improvements in depression symptoms. Studies on cannabis and anxiety have found cannabis can lower anxiety and even lead to blunted stress reactions and lower cortisol levels (a hormone that indicates stress) for those undergoing stressful situations.
Cannabis may also aid those suffering from sleep disturbances during menopause. Research has found that THC significantly decreases the time it takes healthy insomniacs to fall asleep and decreases the amount of time subjects wake up in the night.
CBD and menopause
CBD may also be helpful during menopause. Studies show it can be helpful for pain relief, and that the best pain-relieving results from cannabis come when CBD and THC used together.
CBD may also help with mood swings in menopause. Like THC, CBD can increase serotonin levels, offering relief from anxiety and depression. Recently the World Health Organization reviewed the literature and found CBD can help with anxiety, specifically reducing tension, restlessness, fatigue, and social anxiety. While there is less research on using CBD for depression, animal studies have found a single dose of CBD could induce fast and sustained anti-depressant like effects.
How cannabis works on menopause
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) exists in all vertebrates and helps regulate crucial functions such as
- Sleep
- Pain
- Appetite
The human body produces its own cannabinoids, which modulate and activate its various functions, but as its name suggests, the endocannabinoid system can be modulated and activated by cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant. When it comes to menopause, researchers have noticed some important connections between the condition and the ECS. For one thing, estrogen (an important hormone which declines in menopause) is affiliated to the endocannabinoid system because it regulates FAAH, an enzyme responsible for breaking down endocannabinoids.
As estrogen levels rise and fall, so do endocannabinoid levels. So, it is not particularly surprising that falling levels of estrogen would lead to negative symptoms for functions regulated by the endocannabinoid system such as
- pain
- sleep
- mood
- temperature
A window of time in which hormone therapy can be effective, and after that it does not work as efficient. Yet some scientists suggest that the endocannabinoid system may be a tool in increasing this window.
Despite the positive potential for cannabis and menopause, the side effects of cannabis can be a deterrent for a small percentage of people. Cannabis can cause a wide array of side effects such as temporary cognitive deficits, short term memory loss, impaired coordination, and respiratory symptoms (such as coughing and increased phlegm production) when inhaled. Like all medication it is not a one fit for all and requires expert consultation, care and management.
Zerenia Clinic is accepting patients who suffer a wide range of conditions and have already unsuccessfully tried a minimum of two traditional treatments.
You don’t need a referral from your doctor to make an appointment, but you will need to provide medical records or referral letter from your specialist – we can help you with this.
Enquire Now if you are eligible by booking a free call with one of our Patient Coordinators by submitting the form below.
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